A review of fitness to practise referrals and investigations of ophthalmologists by the General Medical Council in the United Kingdom

Background The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body which regulates doctors in the United Kingdom (UK). One of its main roles is to investigate any concerns raised regarding a doctor. We aimed to study the current trends in referrals of ophthalmologists to the GMC. Methods A request was made to the GMC under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for all complaints of ophthalmologists received by the GMC between 2007 and 2019, their outcomes and types of allegations. We have also calculated the annual incidences of suspension and erasure. Results There were 1032 complaints received by the GMC against ophthalmologists in 2007-2019. No actions were taken in 569 cases (55%). GMC investigations were carried out in 347 cases (34%). Sixty cases were referred to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service tribunal (6%), some of which cases resulted in suspension (28, 3%) and erasure (11, 1%). The commonest allegation types were Clinical Care, Knowledge, Skills and Performance, Maintaining Trust, Communication, Partnership and Teamwork and Probity. Annual incidences of complaints and serious outcomes between 2009 and 2017 were 30.54 (range 18.7-42.4) and 1.1 (range 0.8-2.0) per 1000 ophthalmologists respectively. Conclusion There is an overall increase in the number of complaints to the GMC for ophthalmologists from 2007 to 2015 but since then there has been a gradual reduction. The annual incidences of complaints and serious outcomes have remained stable.